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I have a daughter that is in the 9th grade that will be vaulting this year. She is 4'10" and 105lbs. I am looking at the ESSX Power-X poles as they are offered down to 8ft. I can't really find any information or recommendations about poles less than 10ft. I know when I vaulted in HS I was handed a 14ft pole (rated 30lbs under my weight) as that is what they had. I later coached two younger brothers who both set freshman records just because I got them a pole that was 12ft and rated at their weight to learn on. So in this case would sorter be better? The smallest pole the school has is a 10’6” 120lb. The girls record at the school is only 9 feet. If no one is vaulting over 8ft why are they using 10 and 11 ft. poles? Is there some disadvantage to an 8 or 9 ft. pole? My daughter is unlikely to get much taller or bigger, her mother was 4'11" and 100lbs when she graduated. She is a diver/swimmer and I would think unlikely to add significant mass at this point. Any information on these poles would be greatly welcome as I need to get something ordered soon.

tmr70 wrote:I have a daughter that is in the 9th grade that will be vaulting this year. She is 4'10" and 105lbs. I am looking at the ESSX Power-X poles as they are offered down to 8ft. I can't really find any information or recommendations about poles less than 10ft. I know when I vaulted in HS I was handed a 14ft pole (rated 30lbs under my weight) as that is what they had. I later coached two younger brothers who both set freshman records just because I got them a pole that was 12ft and rated at their weight to learn on. So in this case would sorter be better? The smallest pole the school has is a 10’6” 120lb. The girls record at the school is only 9 feet. If no one is vaulting over 8ft why are they using 10 and 11 ft. poles? Is there some disadvantage to an 8 or 9 ft. pole? My daughter is unlikely to get much taller or bigger, her mother was 4'11" and 100lbs when she graduated. She is a diver/swimmer and I would think unlikely to add significant mass at this point. Any information on these poles would be greatly welcome as I need to get something ordered soon.

I wouldn't go any shorter than 10'6 for a high school girl. She will quickly be gripping higher than 8 and 9 feet. 120lbs sounds big, but on a pole that short, it's actually not that big. It would be about the same as an 11'110 which, if your school didn't have any poles at all, is what I would recommend starting out with for a girl her size.

What other poles 12' and shorter does the school have?

What is the advantage (other than cost) to starting on an 11 ft pole over a 9 ft pole?

Is it not realistic to expect a new vaulter to stay on a starter pole until such a time as they need a heavier pole or they are vaulting above hold height? If so how far about hold height should the goal be before length is added?

Is there some disadvantage (other than cost) of starting on a 9 ft pole?

I have not been able to find any references online to any discussion about these shorter poles, good or bad.

tmr70 wrote:What is the advantage (other than cost) to starting on an 11 ft pole over a 9 ft pole?

Is it not realistic to expect a new vaulter to stay on a starter pole until such a time as they need a heavier pole or they are vaulting above hold height? If so how far about hold height should the goal be before length is added?

Is there some disadvantage (other than cost) of starting on a 9 ft pole?

I have not been able to find any references online to any discussion about these shorter poles, good or bad.

Even my really slow unathletic girls can get their hand grip above 9 feet within a few weeks. An athlete with any athleticism would hold higher than that on the first day.

Most girls aren't going to be developmentally ready to vault above their handhold until they are holding at least 12'. A shorter, slower girl miiiight be able to do it with closer to an 11' grip, but there's no way any girl taller than like 4'0 is going to be able to vault anywhere near their grip on a 9' pole. I don't think I could jump my grip when I was holding at least 11'8 and I was sloooww.

When an athlete is not bending the pole, the length of the pole is unimportant. I personally would not want any HS girl bending the pole until they were technically proficient enough to hold at least 10'3 or so on a straight pole, and that's for a short slow girl. A more athletic girl it would be higher than that. Bending the pole too early in an athlete's development will generally lead to bad habits.

8' and 9' poles are for elementary kids. Like 4'6 tall and shorter. Anyone taller than that will likely be outjumping them in a very short time 10'-10'6 poles can be useful with small beginner girls (or even very small boys), but I would never recommend a HS buy anything shorter than 11'. I don't think girls _need_ to bend poles until they can bend at least an 11' pole rated at their weight. Many coaches would say 12' pole.

Hopefully your daughter has a long, fun pole vaulting career ahead of her. If you have the resources to help purchase poles for her, the road she travels will be an easier one. But unless you have unlimited resources, I wouldn't worry about buying poles just yet. Let her vault at least a few weeks and see how she is progressing. That will give you an idea of where she needs to be.

In a perfect world, she'll progress from the 10'6 pole to 11' poles to 11'6 poles to at least 12' poles... 12'6 or 13' poles if she is fast and learns the event well. Each pole is several hundred dollars and you usually need several in each length... hopefully her school has a good series and you don't need to buy many!